Bernie Kosar says the vertical offense the Browns will use under Norv Turner fits Brandon Weeden perfectly, and Kosar should know: He played in it 20 years ago.

One day after Bill Belichick cut Kosar in 1993 because of "diminishing skills," Kosar was playing for the Cowboys as the backup to Troy Aikman. Turner, now the Browns' offensive coordinator, was the offensive coordinator in Dallas at the time. Turner's offense hasn't changed much in two decades, and it still produces Pro Bowl quarterbacks and winning seasons.

Kosar represents past glory for the Browns and three AFC championship games. Whether Weeden even represents the present, let alone the future, is to be determined by the newest Browns regime. The pair was at the Cleveland Auto Show at the IX Center on Monday night autographing pictures and other items for fans.

"I'm not trying to make anything negative about the past or the (West Coast) system they used last year, because that system has been phenomenal over the years," Kosar said. "They've won a lot of games and had a lot of success. It's just not what I could have been good at, and I don't think it's what Brandon is meant to do.

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"His arm is something all us quarterbacks would love to have. It's a powerful arm. Down the field throwing is something I obsessively believe in. I think the game is going back to that. It's the best offense for him, and I think he knows that. It's going to give him and the team the best chance to be successful."

Weeden does not yet have the playbook designed by Turner and head coach Rob Chudzinski. Under the CBA agreement, Weeden and his teammates cannot begin the offseason program until April 1.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has said emphatically Weeden will have competition for the starting job this year. Last year, the job was basically taken from Colt McCoy and handed to Weeden, the 22nd pick of the 2012 draft.

Whether the competition will come from free agency, a trade or the draft is up to CEO Joe Banner and Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Lombardi. But when the final votes are counted, Weeden is confident he'll come out on top. Banner said he sees potential in Weeden but wants to discover "how bad he wants it."

"That's the way it should be," Weeden said in his first interview with Cleveland media since Chudzinski was hired on Jan. 11. "I think that's the way I'm going to approach it anyway. I'm going to challenge myself. I know what to expect. I'm not going to my first camp anymore. I can dial it in and really get focused on what we're trying to do.

"I'm going to have to learn a whole new offense. It's full steam ahead once I get my hands on a playbook. They've already said they're going to challenge me, and as a player, that's what I want."

Weeden had success playing in the shotgun at Oklahoma State. He was in the shotgun 42 percent of the time last season as a rookie with the Browns. The league average was 66 percent.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, coached by Turner, and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton with Chudzinski as offensive coordinator were in the shotgun more than 75 percent of the time in 2012.

Weeden says he likes to throw downfield. According to Pro Football Focus, he threw 57 passes that were in the air 20 yards or more (to differentiate from a 10-yard pass that gained 25 yards). He completed 14 of those passes, which ranks 22nd of the 23 quarterbacks listed. Four of those deep passes were dropped.

Weeden talked about being eager to get a playbook; Kosar said Turner's offense puts the onus on the quarterback to read the defense. Reading defenses, more than any physical skill, was Kosar's bread and butter.

"I had the honor of playing for (Turner) in 1993," Kosar said. "I audibled a lot except when I played in his system because if you read the defense right and understand where the safeties are and where the protections are, you should always have somebody one-on-one. Is he open? That's up to that receiver who needs to beat the cornerback. If he doesn't, that receiver's not playing.

"That simplistic philosophy he has and the way his routes are good against all coverages gives you an option every time, and typically there's a deep option every time. If you're not reading the defense on the pre-snap, you still have a chance to go down the field. It puts the onus on you to read the defense and know where the one-on-one is."

And that puts the onus on Weeden to study and know the opposing defense every week.